And on Tuesday night, even in defeat, the effort his short-handed Miami Heat displayed for a second straight game without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade available spoke volumes about the job Spoelstra has done this season.

Coaching James and Wade -- a three-time MVP and a two-time champion, respectively -- will never be viewed as a burden. But when a coach has two of the top five players in the league on his roster, it tends to block the view of those who lack the vision to look beyond the obvious.

Spoelstra shouldn't need the last two games the Heat played to bolster his résumé among the best coaching performances this season. But they certainly won't hurt.

With James and Wade resting nagging injuries, the Heat went into San Antonio on Sunday and knocked off the best team in the Western Conference. On Tuesday, with James and Wade watching from the bench, the Heat pushed the current hottest team in the league to the brink and absorbed a 50-point effort from Carmelo Anthony before fading late and falling at home, 102-90, to the New York Knicks.